The present invention relates generally to the field of pet doors. More particularly, this invention relates to pet doors having movable flaps that provide a substantially weathertight seal.
Prior art pet doors exist for providing pet animals exit from or entrance into an enclosure, e.g., a house. These doors typically consist of a frame having sidewalls defining an opening, and a movable flap. The flap, generally having dimensions larger than the opening formed by the pet door frame, is composed of a resilient material that conforms to the frame contours, thus providing a weathertight seal. The flap is typically aligned with the frame by a variety of mechanical means. One prior art method of ensuring that a good seal exists between the flap and the frame, is to provide a flap having wipers along the flap's vertical edge, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,047,331, by the present inventor. The wipers help seal the flap against the edges of the frame sidewall.
Another prior art pet door that provides a weathertight seal is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,651,793, also by the present inventor. This pet door provides a frame that supports a resilient flap that mounts magnets along a bottom edge. The frame includes a movable bottom sill that also mount magnets at locations substantially complementary to the flap-mounted magnets. The flap and sill magnets cooperate to seat the flap within the frame, thereby providing a substantially weathertight seal.
A goal of these and other prior art pet doors is ensuring that a good seal exists between the edges of the flap and the frame during repeated use of the doors. There still exists a need in the art for an improved pet door that provides a flap that forms a substantially weathertight seal between the flap and the frame. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a pet door having improved sealing capabilities.
It is another object of the invention to provide a pet door that has a flap that sufficiently seats within the frame.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a pet door that is relatively low-cost and relatively easy to manufacture.
Other general and more specific objects of the invention will in part be obvious and in part be evident from the drawings and description which follow.